Materials Science
- Tech
Electronic skin feels the heat, hears the sound
Electronic skin inspired by human fingertips detects texture, pressure, heat and sound.
By Meghan Rosen - Materials Science
Invisibility cloaks slim down
A new invisibility cloak offers more stealth in a thinner package.
By Andrew Grant - Materials Science
Electron waves refract negatively
Waves of electrons have been bent backward in a sheet of graphene, allowing physicists to focus electrons the way a lens focuses light.
By Andrew Grant - Materials Science
Graphene shows signs of superconductivity
Ultrathin sheets of carbon can conduct electrical current with no resistance at low temperatures.
By Andrew Grant - Materials Science
Nanogenerators harvest body’s energy to power devices
Nanogenerators offer body-harvested energy to fuel bionic future
By Beth Mole - Materials Science
Buckyballs turn on copper’s magnetism
Exposure to buckyballs bestows ironlike magnetic properties onto the normally nonmagnetic metals copper and manganese.
By Andrew Grant - Materials Science
Stretchy fiber lets electrons flow
Folded layers of carbon nanotubes allow an elastic fiber to conduct electrical current when stretched.
By Andrew Grant - Materials Science
Stretchy fiber keeps electrons flowing
Folded layers of carbon nanotubes allow an elastic fiber to conduct electrical current when stretched.
By Andrew Grant -
- Materials Science
Like a balloon, peculiar magnet grows and shrinks
A recently discovered alloy of iron and gallium can expand and contract like a balloon when exposed to a magnetic field.
By Andrew Grant - Paleontology
Suds versus nanoparticles and more reader feedback
Readers discuss the posture of an ancient reptile and why washing machines and nanoparticles don't mix.
- Materials Science
Spiders spin stronger threads with nanotubes
Spiders sprayed with carbon nanotubes spin supertough strands of silk.
By Meghan Rosen